Just Give Me A Reason
by Sky 'N Scribbles
Summary: Songfic. So maybe Renji got replaced. But their bittersweet love wasn't over yet. "And we can learn to love again..." RenRuki


**This one is by Sky! Songfic of RenRuki! **

**Disclaimer: Do not own song nor Bleach. Though I wish I did.**

* * *

_"Right from the start,  
You were a thief,  
You stole my heart;  
And I, your willing victim." _

* * *

A young, small boy with spiky red hair tied up in a ponytail clutched the heavy, cermanic pot filled with water to his chest, breathing heavily. "Hurry up, guys!" he yelled to his companions, sweat dripping down his face. "The old man's gainin' on us!

"Come back here! Even if you give my water back to me, I'll _still _kill you runts!"

_"Run!" _Renji pressed, his legs aching already, his lungs burning and screaming for air, to slow down. He risked a glance behind him, his heart pounding forcefully in his chest.

Suddenly, a small, black-haired figure slid behind him and knocked the old man off his feet. She kicked his head, but didn't stop there. She stomped on him several times, effectively knocking the old geezer unconscious. Renji and his companions could only stop and stare in awe.

"Well?" the girl pressed. She had a small, lithe figure, glossy black hair, with a single strand falling on her face. "Don't just stand there! Let's go!" she grabbed Renji's hand - Renji noticed how, even though they looked small and delicate, they were surprisingly rough and calloused. She pulled him forward, and he found himself running alongside her.

_She's pretty_, Renji mused. _Really pretty._

* * *

_"I let you see the parts of me  
that weren't all that pretty.  
And with every touch, you fixed them."_

* * *

"Hey, where'd you get that?"

Renji looked over. They lived at the edge of Inuzuri, the 78th District of South Rukongai, and the conditions there were surprisingly better than in the middle of the Upper District. He had just taken off the top of his only, scruffed and worn yutaka, and was scrubbing it in the river. Rukia, their newest addition to their large 'family', fingered a rather nasty new wound oozing blood and pus on Renji's back. It had hurt like Hell, but there was no First Aid there, so Renji had to bear with it.

Renji winced with pain. "Oh...that. I got that from one of the vendors..only I didn't notice the knife that he brandished. I still got the wares, though." he offered her a half smile.

Rukia scoffed. "You're an idiot," she told him bluntly. "Look, it's already infected."

"There's nothing we can do about it," Renji responded, the two of them childishly staring each other down. Eventually, Rukia won.

"Here." Rukia grabbed a...clean (by their standards) cloth, and soaked it in the river. She dabbed it onto Renji's wound. Renji winced and gritted his teeth, but Rukia continued. It went on for what seemd like hours, until Renji stood up, almost losing what little he had during the day. A lot of pus was on the ground, along with black blood.

"...thanks."

"What's with the pause?!"

* * *

_"Now you've been talking in your sleep,  
oh, oh.  
Things you never say to me,  
oh oh."_

* * *

Renji tossed restlessly on the not-so-comfortable ground, looking enviously at Rukia, who had the brains to bring a bag. Only a few weeks ago had Rukia finally regained her shinigami abilities after transferring it to Kurosaki Ichigo. Right now, they were on a mission together to exterminate a few high-level hollows.

"..._arigato_, Ichigo." Rukia mumbled. Renji stiffened.

"Shut up..._baka_."

"I think I might..."

Renji lay back on the dirt. This was going to be a long night.

* * *

_"Tell me that you've had enough,  
of our love,  
our...love." _

* * *

Nowadays, Renji noticed that Rukia was looking forward to Ichigo's visits...more than anything else. More than a party, more than Captain Ukitake's training sessions...more than _him_.

Her childhood friend.

_Rukia...? Are you replacing me? After all these years?_

* * *

_"Just give me a reason,  
just a little bit's enough.  
Just a second we're not broken - just bent,  
and we can learn to love again."_

* * *

Renji hugged Rukia to his chest, feeling a sharp pain in himself as Rukia tried to refrain from crying. Rukia was one of the strongest female shinigami he had ever met, and it took quite a lot to make her this upset. But her crying...was reasonable.

Kurosaki Ichigo had lost his shinigami powers. And he would never get them back. They weren't returning to Karakura Town ever again.

Renji felt a bittersweet smile on his face as Rukia curled up against him.

"_Baka_...I noticed you looking at me all along," Rukia muttered.

_And we can learn to love again..._

* * *

**Erm...not my best songfic ^^; so review? And by the way - **

**SCREW ICHIRUKI! RENRUKI FOR LIFE! **

**That's all XD**

**-Sky**


End file.
